Advertising Campaign Event

Overseas Food Market

Myers Park High School DECA

Myers Park High School

2400 Colony Road

Charlotte, North Carolina 28209

Paulos Muruts, Danny Ly, and Jonathan Perez

January 27, 2015

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1

II. DESCRIPTION 2

III. OBJECTIVE(S) OF THE CAMPAIGN 3

IV. IDENTIFICATION OF THE TARGET MARKET 3A. Primary Markets 3B. Secondary Markets 4

V. LIST OF ADVERTISING MEDIA SELECTION NECESSARY FOR THE CAMPAIGN 5

VI. SCHEDULES OF ALL ADVERTISING PLANNED 6

VII. SCHEDULES OF ALL SALES PROMOTION ACTIVITY(IES) PLANNED 7

VIII. BUDGET (Detailed projections of actual cost) 8

IX. STATEMENT OF BENEFITS TO THE CLIENT/ADVERTISER 9

X. BIBLIOGRAPHY 9

XI. APPENDIX 10

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Introduction: “Live lobsters, live crabs, and fresh fish” proclaims the sign standing outside of Ms. Luu Ngo’s business. The sign is adorned with two orange koi fish, and symbolizes Overseas Food Market and the American Dream. When Ms. Ngo first launched Overseas Food Market in 1986, she had envisioned becoming a profitable retailer of seafood, Asian food products, and various other commodities. Located on 4603 South Boulevard, in the southern part of Charlotte, North Carolina, Ms. Ngo and her employees unremittingly endeavor to realize her vision; however, due to recent economic downturn, being eclipsed by competitors, and an overall reduction in sales, finding new means of attracting customers is necessary to ensure the business’s profitability and continued success.Our primary objective is to promote awareness of the business in the general public to widen our customer base by at least fifteen percent over a one-year period through the use of promotional activities and advertising.Identification of the Target Market:

Primary: Our primary target market consists of Asians of both sexes, from the ages of fifteen to twenty-nine and forty-five to fifty-nine, who are also members of the lower to middle socioeconomic class. They live in Charlotte and shop at the business at least once a week to cook for themselves or for their families.

Secondary: Our secondary target market consists of Caucasians of both sexes, between the ages of forty-five to fifty-nine, who are members of the middle to upper-middle socioeconomic class. They have at least a high school diploma and shop at the business at least once a month for their own personal enjoyment, rather than out of necessity.

Proposed Sales Promotions:1. Lunar New Year’s Sale/Celebration: fifteen day discount of fifteen percent off all items,

concluded with a lion dance on the fifteenth day after the Lunar New Year2. Mid-Autumn/Moon Festival Sale: twenty-five percent discount off all items offered on

the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, with mooncakes and lanterns being offered for sale during the evening

3. Online Customer Surveys: three surveys offered per year, at the beginning, middle, and end of the year, five percent discount per survey taken: five percent discount if any one survey is taken, ten percent discount if any two are taken, and a fifteen percent discount if all three are taken

Proposed Advertising Projected Cost Notes

Online Advertising: Social media - Facebook & Twitter

$ 0 x 2 social media pages = $0

Facebook/Twitter are free services

Print Media: Newspaper - The Asian Herald

$6 x 31.50 x 12 = $2,268 $6 per column inch, 31.50 column inches, 12 months

Personal Promotion: Loyalty programs - Stamp cards $9.99 x 1 order = $9.99

1 order includes 500 3.5x2” stamp cards from

Vistaprint.com

TOTAL ADVERTISING BUDGET $0 + $2,268 + $9.99 = $2,277.99

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II. DESCRIPTION

First launched by Ms. Luu Ngo in 1986,

Overseas Food Market has since established its

position among North Carolina’s Asian

community. Known as a reliable retailer of

seafood, Asian food products, and other commodities, the business is located on 4603 South

Boulevard, in the southern part of Charlotte, North Carolina. The business was formed under

Tran Properties LLC, which is owned by Ms. Ngo and her partner, Louie Tran. The business

employs a team of fewer than ten people, with each

employee being delegated tasks that include restocking the

inventory, shelving items, and handling seafood, while Ms.

Ngo herself handles checking out customers and other

managerial duties.

Overseas Food Market is operated on the basis of a market-orientation philosophy, under

which the business focuses primarily on satisfying the customer’s needs and desires, while also

attempting to establish a long-term relationship with the customer. Among Overseas Food

Market’s vast assortment of products are seafood products, Asian food items, beverages, cooking

ingredients, spices, and dinnerware. The majority of the products that are offered service a

variety of Asian ethnicities, predominantly Vietnamese culture, but also Chinese, Korean, and

Filipino cultures.

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III. OBJECTIVE(S) OF THE CAMPAIGN

1. Primary Objective a. promote awareness of the business in the general public to widen our customer

base by at least fifteen percent over a one-year period through the use of promotional activities and advertising

2. Secondary Objectives a. distinguish Overseas Food Market from competitors by stressing an emphasis on

building a long-term relationship with the customerb. increase sales revenue over a year-long period by at least ten percentc. promote loyalty to the business through loyalty programs, ensuring that customers

are fully satisfied upon leaving the store premises, and sales promotions

IV. IDENTIFICATION OF THE TARGET MARKET

In defining Overseas Food Market’s primary and secondary target markets, the customer

base can be segmented by demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioral traits; that is

to say, the group of consumers the business is aimed toward can be determined given these

characteristics below:

A. Primary market(s)

Demographically: Without a doubt, Overseas Food Market is tailored toward Asians.

Specifically, the primary target market is Asians of both sexes of the ages between fifteen

and twenty-nine, and between forty-five and fifty-nine, and who are also members of the

lower to middle socioeconomic class.

Geographically: The intended target market of the business is

people who live in Charlotte, North Carolina, especially those

who live near South Boulevard, in south Charlotte, near the

business’s physical location.

Psychographically: The primary target market has a strong preference for Asian products

and culture. Those customers often cook and consume Asian food and drink products and

likely shop at Overseas Food Market for either themselves or for their families.

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Behaviorally: The ideal target market shops at Overseas Food Market at least once per

week, if not more often. These consumers are heavy users of the products supplied at the

business, and due to repeat patronage, likely have some form of loyalty to the business.

B. Secondary markets

Demographically: The business’s secondary market consists of Caucasians. Specifically,

the secondary target market includes Caucasians of both sexes, between the ages of forty-

five and fifty-nine, who are also members of the lower to middle socioeconomic class.

Customers in the secondary target market will likely have at least a high school diploma,

or the international equivalent.

Geographically: Similarly to the primary target market, our secondary target market

consists of those who live in south Charlotte, North Carolina, especially those customers

who live near South Boulevard, near the business’s physical location.

Psychographically: The secondary target market has an interest in Asian products, and

likely has an appeal for Asian food and drink products because they are exotic and

unfamiliar. These customers occasionally shop at Overseas Food Market for personal

enjoyment, rather than as a weekly or daily necessity.

Behaviorally: The secondary target market will shop at Overseas Food Market at least

once per month, if not more often. These customers will not be heavy users of the

products supplied, due to their business being a result of a desire, rather than a necessity,

and will have some form of loyalty to the business, although their loyalty will

understandably be less powerful than that of the primary target market.

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V. LIST OF ADVERTISING MEDIA SELECTION NECESSARY FOR THE

CAMPAIGN

A. Social Media

Online - Facebook/Twitter - Practically everyone in the United

States has access to and uses the Internet these days, whether it is for

work, for social media, for information, or for entertainment. Online advertisements are perfect

for Overseas Food Market, because they allow the business to appeal to a broad audience, while

also facilitating communication between the business and the customers. Specifically, a page on

Facebook and Twitter will be created to allow customers to tell their friends and families about

the business, also allowing for free word-of-mouth advertising. In addition, we are able to have a

platform upon which we can judge our progress in comparison to competitors, by comparing

Facebook page “Likes” and Twitter followers.

B. Print Media

Newspaper - The Asian Herald: The Asian Herald is a newspaper written in English that

reaches over 338,000 Asian-American readers across the Carolinas. Among the readership of the

newspaper are people from Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipino, Indonesian, Thai,

Laos, and Indian communities. Over eight thousand copies are published every month, 5,200 of

which are sent to households across the Southeastern United States. The newspaper is published

in English with separate inserts written in Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. The benefits of

advertising through newspaper include the ability to reach a broader audience than television or

radio at relatively low costs with the flexibility to refine a message or change a campaign in a

short period of time. There is also the ability to specifically tailor our advertisements to appeal to

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our desired target market, rather than creating overly generalized advertisements in an attempt to

appeal to everyone.

C. Sales Promotions, Activities, and Personal Promotions

Loyalty Programs - Stamped cards: Customers will be

given the option to take a small card after the program is

initialized. The card has ten spaces on it, and after each purchase over five dollars, the card will

be stamped with the store logo, which is two koi fish. After the card has ten slots on it, with a

maximum of one stamped slot per day, customers are able to redeem the card for a ten dollar

coupon for their next purchase. This will be an inexpensive means by which we encourage

customers to return to the business, since our only costs would be the costs of creating cards and

the cost of stamps. By requiring a minimum of five dollars to be eligible for a stamp, such costs

would easily be recouped.

VI. SCHEDULES OF ALL ADVERTISING PLANNED

A. Social Media

Online - Facebook/Twitter: After the establishment of official Facebook and Twitter

pages, online promotions will be ongoing throughout the year, because people check social

media on nearly a daily basis, rather than in intermittent intervals. Posts to social media accounts

generally will be made on a biweekly basis to minimize the risk of becoming an annoyance to

customers, with the exception of during significant events and activities.

B. Print Media

Newspaper - The Asian Herald: Since the Asian Herald is published monthly, we will

include an advertisement in each issue of the newspaper. With print media being one of the most

inexpensive yet effective forms of advertising, it would only be to our benefit to advertise

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through newspaper as often as possible. Many members of the Asian community within the

Carolinas read the Asian Herald monthly, and by continuing to advertise every month, we

increase the probability of attracting new customers.

C. Sales Promotions and Personal Promotions

Loyalty programs - Stamped cards: Our loyalty program using the stamped cards will

also be for the remainder of the year because it costs very little yet has great potential to

influence a customer to return to the store and continue shopping, thereby allowing us to recoup

any expenditures.

VII. SCHEDULES OF ALL SALES PROMOTION ACTIVITY(IES) PLANNED

Lunar New Year’s Sale & Celebration: To build

our connection to the Asian community of Charlotte, on

February 19, 2015, we will hold a Lunar New Year’s sale

to commemorate one of the most important celebrations

in Asian cultures. Our proposed sale will last fifteen days,

the same amount of time that many cultures spend celebrating the Lunar New Year, and will

offer a fifteen percent price reduction on all items in the store. To culminate our sale and

celebration, we will hold a traditional lion dance, or múa lân, as it is known in Vietnamese

cultures on the fifteenth day.

Mid-Autumn/Moon Festival Sale: On the night of the

full moon, typically from early September to early October,

the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated by many ethnic

Chinese, Vietnamese, and Taiwanese people. On this day, we plan to sell everything at a twenty-

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five percent discount and close out the store during the evening by giving customers the

opportunity to buy traditional lanterns and mooncakes.

Customer Online Survey: In order to gauge customer satisfaction while also gathering

valuable information about our customers, we will hold three surveys throughout the year: for

the first two weeks of January, the first two weeks of June, and the last two weeks of December.

For each survey completed within the allotted timeframe, customers will receive a coupon for

five percent off of their next purchase; that is to say, if customers complete a survey, they receive

five percent off of their next purchase, and if they complete a second survey, they receive the

original five percent from the first survey, in addition to another ten percent from the second,

regardless of the time period in which the surveys were completed.

VIII. BUDGET (Detailed projections of actual cost)

Advertising Campaign Cost Notes

Online Advertising $0 x 2 pages = $0

There is no cost to create Facebook and

Twitter pages.1. Social media - Facebook & Twitter page

Print Advertising $6 x 31.50 x 12 = $2,268

$6 per column inch with 31.50 column

inches for all 12 months.

1. Newspaper - The Asian Herald

Sales Promotions and Personal Promotions $9.99 500 3.5x2” stamp cards from

Vistaprint.com1. Loyalty programs - Stamped cards

TOTAL ADVERTISING BUDGET $0 + $2,268 + $9.99 = $2,277.99

IX. STATEMENT OF BENEFITS TO THE CLIENT/ADVERTISER

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We are committed to building mutually beneficial long-term relationships with our

customers and ensuring that each and every customer who enters our store is satisfied upon

leaving the store. Our primary goal in carrying out this advertising campaign is to promote

awareness of the Overseas Food Market brand, while also strengthening our ties to the Charlotte

community. By continuing to publicize the business through social media, print media, sales

promotions, and other activities, we expect sales volume to increase, while incurring only minor

expenses, thereby increasing both revenue and profit. Customers will be motivated to return to

the store, consequently increasing our repeat purchase rate. As a generally accepted rule, many

stable businesses receive twenty-five to forty percent of their total revenues from returning

customers, and repeat customers often allow a business to weather through tougher economic

troubles. By strengthening our ties to our customers and our target market, Overseas Food

Market is investing in the customer, and the returns on this investment could not be better.

X. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Consultant (1): Mr. Matthew Speas, Marketing Teacher, DECA Advisor Ms. Kimberly Edwards, Marketing Teacher, DECA Advisor

Interviews (2): Ms. Luu Ngo, owner of Overseas Food Market Mr. Hanh Ly, four year employee at Overseas Food Market, business contact

Printed Sources (1): Marketing 9e Textbook

Internet Sources (6): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_New_Year http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival http://www.asianherald.org http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/Festivals/78320.htm http://www.factmonster.com/spot/chinesenewyear1.html http://www.travelchinaguide.com/essential/holidays/mid-autumn.htm

XI. APPENDIX

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Overseas Food Market’s current selection of merchandise, including produce, various sauces and toppings, bags of rice, and seafood.

The photo above depicts the sign standing outside of the business, as compared to its digital recreation.

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Above is a photo of the business’s interior, near the entrance, where customers are checked out by Ms. Ngo herself.

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The pictures above depict the proposed front and back of our stamp cards.

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